FTSE 100 movers: Smurfit lifted by Goldman note; utilities slump

London's FTSE 100 was up 2.1% to 7,2634.30 in afternoon trade as investors welcomed the outcome of the first round of France's Presidential elections.

Irish packaging company Smurfit Kappa was given a boost as Goldman Sachs said the 7% drop in the share price over the past month created an attractive entry point.

GS said Smurfit remained its top-pick in the European paper and packaging space, as although the market has become increasingly concerned about a margin squeeze, this "is temporary in our view" as box prices are expected to increase in the second half to enable margins to recover quickly.

Barclays, Standard Chartered and RBS were all on the front foot, tracking their European peers as investors breathed a sigh of relief over the outcome of the first round of the French presidential elections.

ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson said: "Banks are doing well because there is now no major risk of significant outflows from the European banking system as investors no longer worry about the future of the euro. Until the Italian elections that is."

Going the other way, utilities Centrica and SSE retreated on reports that the Conservative manifesto will include a cap on household energy bills. Centrica was also dragged lower by a downgrade to 'neutral' from 'buy' UBS, which said the snap election in June makes an energy tariff cap more likely.

"We now see implementation of some form of tariff cap as more likely than not," the bank said. It added that proposals could come this week or during the election campaign, but in either case the context of a general election increases the focus on visible action and the chance a tariff cap will be the preferred measure.

Precious metals miner Randgold Resources lost its shine amid declining gold prices as investors shunned safe-haven assets due to the risk-on tone in markets.

Risers

Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,091.00p 5.45%
CRH (CRH) 2,844.00p 4.98%
Barclays (BARC) 217.90p 4.78%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 718.00p 4.68%
GKN (GKN) 366.00p 4.18%
Old Mutual (OML) 199.20p 4.08%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 562.00p 3.69%
Aviva (AV.) 528.50p 3.63%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,590.00p 3.25%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 247.10p 3.04%

Fallers

Centrica (CNA) 198.10p -4.62%
SSE (SSE) 1,396.00p -3.39%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,925.00p -2.05%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,312.00p -0.34%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 973.50p -0.21%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 904.00p 0.11%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,825.00p 0.22%
Sage Group (SGE) 656.50p 0.23%
Sky (SKY) 982.00p 0.26%
BT Group (BT.A) 311.75p 0.26%